A progressive jackpot system for a gaming network is described wherein the accumulation of the jackpot is based upon any of a number of factors, and the winning of the jackpot is based on any of a number of factors. In one embodiment, the winning of the jackpot may be by any player using a player ID card or a cash-less card to play a gaming machine. The determination of a winner of the jackpot may be based on a random selection of a player's ID code (or cash-less card code) by a network computer.